With no end in sight to the raging Middle East conflict, heightening volatility in the global economy, and leaving African economies on the receiving end, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) at a meeting on Monday in Morocco, where they presented a joint policy brief, outlined practical recommendations for crisis responses and resilience building in African countries.

Meeting on the sidelines of the 58th Session of the Economic Commission for Africa in Tangier, the quartet called for strengthening regional integration, accelerating African-led financial solutions, and investing decisively in energy, food, and trade resilience, to move the continent from vulnerability to preparedness.

Although “the conflict is generating broad economic risks for Africa, a few countries may see short-term gains through higher commodity prices, trade diversion, and rerouted logistics. Nigeria stands to benefit from higher oil prices and the export expansion of the Dangote Refinery,” expressing worry that following the conflict, 29 currencies on the Africa have weakened.

This has raised the local currency cost of servicing external debt and importing food, fuel, and fertiliser for farmers, raising concerns of a possible food crisis during the critical MarchMay planting season. This will affect agricultural production, compounding risks of crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity, especially for low-income households and import-dependent economies.

Principals of the four institutions highlighted the key findings and recommendations of the forthcoming report, lamenting how the current shocks are transmitting faster and through more concentrated channels than past global disruptions.

This, they noted, leaves African economies with little time to adjust, even as its effects are already affecting economies and households on the continent, requiring rapid and effective policy action.

According to Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, this “continued escalation of the conflict worsens global instability, with serious implications for energy markets, food security, and economic resilience, particularly in Africa where economic pressures remain acute”.

Claver Gatete, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa agrees that the continent “has been hit by too many external shocks not of its making.

This moment calls for decisive action, to protect people now, but also to accelerate Africa’s long-term push towards energy security, food sovereignty, and financial self-reliance.” Crises like this, he believes, “reinforce why Africa must finance more of its own future and strengthen regional solutions that build resilience before the next shock hits.”

On his part, Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, believes that “this moment demands leadership, within Africa and from its partners. With the right mix of policy choices, financing tools, and political resolve, Africa can weather this shock and emerge more resilient, more self-reliant, and better positioned to shape its own economic future.”

The meeting called for coordinated action across three horizons such as immediate crisis response measures to cushion households and stabilise fuel, food, and fertiliser supply by African governments and supported by development partners and the private sector; medium-term reforms to strengthen energy security, targeted social protection, and regional trade under the AfCFTA; and long-term structural reforms towards stronger domestic resource mobilisation and African financial safety nets, including accelerated implementation of the African Financing Stability Mechanism Sidi Ould Tah, President of the AfDB Group, emphasised that “as global crises multiply, Africa’s response must evolve from managing shocks to fostering resilience. African institutions and development partners need to act swiftly and in concert, leveraging their comparative advantages to cushion short-term shocks while laying the foundations for longterm resilience.”